A Fairy Tale
by Planet of Hats
Summary: Exactly that. Kirk and Spock tell a child a fairy tale. Unoriginal titles FTW


Lol, the inevitable "fairy-tale-meaning-something-else-entirely" story. K/S. Hope you enjoy :3

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"Tell me a story."

Jim glanced at the little girl and sighed. So this was the disturbance?

But then again, what could they have expected? Children of ambassadors were still children, after all, and this one was no different. The child's mother, Ayalel, the current mediator for the Zetabar-Foon conflict, had given the Enterprise an almost laughable mission: to escort her seven-year old daughter to her father's planet, the watery planet of Quator 5. Ayalel couldn't come along, due to "political reasons," but she'd been quite worried all the same, contacting the Enterprise every five minutes inquiring after her little angel.

Who was currently safely in bed, demanding a story from the captain. The security guard watching couldn't help a little apologetic cough. Spock, standing beside the guard, quietly dismissed him. Best to have as few possible witnesses to this scene. The Vulcan then stepped forward.

"Ariel, I do not believe now is the time for stories."

"But it's bedtime." The seven-year old stared, large-eyed, at the half-Vulcan. "Bedtime's always the time for stories."

Spock glanced inquiringly at his captain, who had to choke back a sudden laugh. "Human tradition," Jim said a few moments later, smiling crookedly. "It's usually up to the parents, but…"

His first officer gazed thoughtfully off into space. "Yes, I seem to recall my mother telling me such stories," he said slowly. "I believe humans term them… 'fairy tales?'"

Intensely amused at the sight of a tiny Spock tucked into bed and listening to the tale of Sleeping Beauty, Jim grinned. "Yes. Now," he said, patting the chair beside him, "Mr. Spock, if you'll do the honors…?"

The captain supposed, if he was going to have to do this, he might as well have someone to suffer with.

The half-Vulcan took a step back in what almost seemed to be a recoil. "Captain, I… I believe I am needed on the bridge…"

Jim rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Scott is more than capable of handling the bridge right now," he said firmly, "and besides, I'm not letting you get away that easy. _Sit." _Hesitantly, his first officer walked forward and took the chair, eyeing Ariel warily. The little girl had been watching the pair curiously.

The spectacle was, to say the least, rather amusing. It was certainly making it hard for Jim to keep a straight face.

"Now," the captain said, endeavoring to form a paternal smile, "Ariel, Mr. Spock here is going to assist me in telling you a story."

"Okay," beamed the child, tucking her knees up to her chest. "Please let it be about a princess."

… okay, only natural, but Jim's smile started to look a little forced. "All right. Once upon a time, there was a princess… who lived in a beautiful castle. She was very lovely herself- kind and polite and charming, with curly blond hair and blue eyes- kind of like you, as a matter of fact." Ariel smiled at that.

Jim continued. "She always wore the prettiest dresses, and the most dazzling crowns…" He trailed off, and glanced at Spock, who raised an eyebrow.

_Must I? _that eyebrow plainly said. Jim rolled his eyes and gave a sharp nod in response. A grin tugged at his mouth. Spock sighed, something he would later deny as a mere physiological, purely unemotional response.

"The well-mannered and apparently beautiful princess," said Spock wryly, "had everything she could possibly want- except a companion." He paused, then continued, his voice low, "The princess was very lonely, you see-"

"But how can she be lonely?" interjected Ariel, tilting her head to one side. "She lives in a castle, doesn't she?"

"I fail to see," replied Spock- and oh my, was that a tad bit irritation in his voice?- "how that correlates with my-"

"What Spock means to say," Jim interrupted, "is that just because she lives in a castle doesn't mean she can't be lonely."

"But aren't there servants for her to make friends with?"

Jim looked at Spock, who merely said, "There are no servants. Merely anthropomorphic animals trained at housework and other menial chores. While the princess finds them convenient and likeable, she wishes for a human companion." The half-Vulcan turned to his captain, his voice completely, utterly serious.

"I suppose that is believable enough, according to fairy tale standards?"

The captain could only manage a shaky nod. He was far, far too busy repressing his constant urges to let out unmanly giggles.

"Okay," said Ariel, squinting her eyes in concentration, "so the princess is lonely… even though she has animal friends?"

"Yes," clarified Spock, turning back to the girl. "May the captain, if he has gathered himself by now, continue this story?"

Ariel nodded, her face quite solemn. Jim took a deep, calming breath.

"Yes, the princess was very lonely," he continued, resisting the urge to glance at his first officer, "even with her animal friends. No one visited her castle, because it was on the very edge of a thick forest. Little did she know… a prince had gotten lost in the forest. He had seen her castle, and began riding towards it…"

"What did the prince look like?" asked Ariel, wide-eyed.

Oh. Physical description. "Um," said Jim, "he was tall. Very handsome." He thought. "He… had black hair, and dark eyes-"

"Like Mr. Pointy Ears?"

Jim stared at Spock, whose eyebrows had reached his hairline.

"Yes," the captain said slowly, his urges to laugh multiplying by the second, "_exactly _like Mr. Pointy Ears."

"The princess," Spock cut in firmly, "happened to be looking out her second-story window at that moment, and in doing so, she saw the prince riding to her gate. Much overjoyed, she welcomed him-"

"-but she was a bit bothered when the prince appeared completely uninterested in her," Jim interrupted. Spock's eyes flicked over to him. "The princess had laid out a banquet for him, which the prince politely ate, but when she asked him if he enjoyed it, he replied that enjoyment was a human emotion-"

"-and rightfully so," Spock said, looking like he would very much like to roll his eyes. "However, the prince very gratefully accepted when the princess offered him a place to sleep for the night."

"Of course, the princess was very accommodating like that," said Jim. "She ensured that his sheets were of top quality silk, and his pillows fluffed, and his mattress as soft as can be…"

"All that the prince was very, _very_ grateful for," repeated Spock. And he certainly was looking a bit annoyed now. "And for some odd reason, despite the princess's utterly insistent brashness and pushiness-"

"Pushiness?" exclaimed Jim, mock-glaring at his first officer. "The princess was virtually perfect in every way!"

"She was a human, and perfection in a human is impossible," retorted Spock, his voice sharper than he'd intended. Jim's glare became a real one at that. Meanwhile, Ariel watched the two of them, her eyes alight with interest. The story, apart from lulling her to sleep, was actually keeping her awake.

Then:

"I apologize," said Spock, his voice soft, "but the purpose of this story is now lost on me."

There was a silence, in which the two stared at each other. Then Jim looked down, appearing, for the moment, vaguely apologetic. He turned and looked at Ariel.

Oh, well. Might as well finish what they started.

"As the prince lay sleeping in his chambers," Jim continued, "the princess, for some reason, realized that she was completely in love with him." Not subtle at all, but he really needed to finish the story quickly.

"Yes," Spock said, cottoning on, "the next morning, the prince realized that as well. He'd never purely understood the concept of love, but that was before he had met the princess." The half-Vulcan looked down.

Jim felt something inside himself light up at those words. "The princess, meanwhile, was rescued from her growing loneliness by her black-haired prince. And the two lived happily ever after." He smiled at his first officer, who responded with one of his half-smiles.

Ariel stared at the both of them.

"I liked it," she decided. "Though the princess should have had brown hair, I think. And brown eyes."

Spock and Jim shared a Look.

"Hm, well… good night, Ariel."

"'Night," said the little girl, snuggling down into her pillow and gazing thoughtfully into space. The two exited, and said nothing as they parted ways, each one to their respective quarters.

Suffice to say, they had a lot to think about.

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Ta! Thanks for reading. :D


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